Former minister has been notified of charges of fraud involving 63 million hryvnias

Law enforcement officials have uncovered a scheme involving the fictitious sale of 7,000 tons of corn, organized by a former minister of agricultural development and a former member of parliament in collaboration with the management of an agricultural enterprise in the Kyiv region. 

Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced this on Facebook.

The suspects entered into a contract for the supply of grain from the 2025 harvest, providing the buyer with forged warehouse receipts and delivery-acceptance certificates. A check of state registries and a physical inspection of the grain elevator confirmed the complete absence of the declared goods in the warehouses.

The investigation established that the selling company issued documents for the storage of over 130,000 tons of grain, which is twice the actual technical capacity of their grain elevator. As a result of the fraud, the victim suffered losses amounting to 63.7 million UAH. During 26 searches in Kyiv and the surrounding region, law enforcement officials seized financial documentation, digital media, and vehicles belonging to the group’s members. Three suspects have been notified of charges under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (fraud on an especially large scale); the issue of imposing preventive measures on them is currently being decided.

Previously, the former head of PJSC “State Food and Grain Corporation” was sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing grain worth $60 million while in office.

Meanwhile, an audit of the State Reserve of Ukraine revealed the disappearance of 2,700 railcars of grain worth over 800 million hryvnias.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau uncovered a grain embezzlement scheme at one of the State Reserve’s enterprises.